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June 7, 2008 Leave a Comment

How to supercharge your career in 17 minutes

“We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents.”

– Eric Hoffer

Tom Peters has an interesting post on his blog -“Get To (Serious!!) Work … On Your Presentation Skills!”

He points out how one Seventeen Minute speech in 2004 catapulted Sen. Barack Obama’s career. Sen.. Obama delivered the Keynote Speech at the 2004 Democratic National attention and he “caught fire.”  He went from a virtually unknown young politician to becoming the presumptive Presidential nominee of his party in less than 4 years!

Fueled by his 17 minute speech!

In 1988 another relatively unknown politician first caught our eye when he delivered a (very long) nominating speech for Gov. Michael Dukakis. That was our first national notice of (then) Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas.

Yes, it is time to “Get Serious – really serious – about working on your presentation skills.” To quote from the Tom Peters article:

“Fact, in “our” more modest worlds: Poor or average or even “okay” presentation skills trip up or hold back an incredible number of very talented people at all levels, including the highest in big orgs—and yet it is rare to see someone launch a martial-arts-training-like, no-bull, I’m-gonna-master-this-or-die-trying offensive on presentation skill improvement.

Why not?”

Indeed! Why not? Why don’t you put more effort into improving your presentation skills? What is holding you back? Do you realize how much your “so-so” presentation skills are holding you back – from advancing in your career? Holding you back from getting what you really want in your life?

It’s not enough to say, “they are a naturally gifted speaker and I just am not.” That is just BS!

Talent, alone, does not guarantee success. It is the intense desire to work on fully developing our talents that determines our long-term success.

Will Sen. Obama’s desire to become President of the USA drive him to improve his natural speaking talents? He will need to improve his debating skills and to work on his responses to questions if he is to succeed.

I’ll be blogging about the presentation skills (or lack of skills) of our Presidential candidates up until the November election.  I will be interested to see which candidate shows the most desire to succeed.

Which candidate will really commit to fully developing his communications skills? Which candidate is is most interested in supercharging his career?

 

 

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Filed Under: Business Communications, Career, Communications, Presentations Tagged: , , , , ,
June 6, 2008 1 Comment

Learn to control your finger pointing

Bill CLinton Finger PointingDon’t point your finger at me! I don’t like it. I especially don’t like it when you “wiggle”your finger” in my face.

Most people share my feelings. Who likes to be publicly scolded?

Why do I  – and others – have such a strong reaction to this gesture? According to Carol Kinsey Goman in “The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets of Body Language at Work,”

“… I’ve often seen politicians and executives use this gesture in meetings, negotiations, or interviews for emphasis or to show dominance. The problem is that rather than being a sign of authority, aggressive finger pointing (with one or four fingers) suggests that the person is losing control of the situation, and it smacks of playground bullying.”

  • Losing control of the situation
  • Smacks of playground bullying

These are hardly signs of strength and authority! Certainly not what the speaker intended. What about the “finger-pointer-in-chief” – former President Bill Clinton? What is he actually communicating, non-verbally – when he wags his index finger at a reporter or at someone in the audience?

That he is losing control of the situation. That he is trying to be overly aggressive; trying to intimidate; trying to regain control of a situation that is quickly deteriorating.

It is not a gesture of strength. And… once we realize what this nonverbal communication is really telling us, how do we feel about the speaker who is wagging their finger at us?

Well, what did the playground bully do once you called him or her on their actions? They immediately backed down. They demonstrated that they had lost control and that they never had the power to intimidate you.

Unfortunately, most of us never call a “powerful” politician or business executive on their actions. Why not? Perhaps this is because (unfortunately) few of us ever called a schoolyard bully on their actions.

We may suspect that this is just a “fit of anger.” That is just an “act.”

It is an act – an act of desperation!

Once we understand and learn to correctly interpret a person’s “body language” we can turn this “acting” to our advantage. We can gain leverage during our negotiations. We can gain the “nonverbal advantage!”

Of course, we must look at the context of the gesture. An isolated instance of finger pointing does not signal “losing control.” However, combined with a flushed face and an elevation in the pitch of the voice and the use of deliberate language… Now that is telling us something about the “finger pointer.” It is quite revealling about their real feelings. About their loss of control. About their bullying behavior.

Certainly, he is not the only “finger-pointer,” but why doesn’t former President Clinton take steps to minimize his finger-pointing?  Why doesn’t one of his close aides or family members “point this out” to him? (Pun intended!)

Why do playground bullies persist? Why do business executives seem to get away with this kind of behavior? Why do so many parents lose control of a situation when talking with their children?

Why?

Now that you have gained some insight into how to interpret this angry gesture, will you react differently the next time?

Maybe yes. Maybe no. Even if you do not react differently – by calling them on their finger pointing, at least you now know that “finger pointing” is just a mask for someone losing control of the situation. Someone who is possibly hiding something. Someone who is afraid.  If you react properly, you can turn this to your advantage. You can gain the upper hand – not just the fingers!

To read a related article that I published on this subject, click here.

Please share your comments about “finger pointing” with our readers. Add your comments below.

 

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Filed Under: Business Communications, Communications, Public Speaking Tagged: , , ,
February 25, 2008 Leave a Comment

Don’t Blame Your Customers!

“A business without customers isn’t a business.”

– Anonymous

If you are running a business you know that your number one job is to attract and retain enough customers to remain viable. You need to attract enough customers who want to buy what you have to offer. You also need to entice your customers to return and make additional purchases. And… you work hard to delight your existing customers so that they, in turn, will recommend your business to their friends and associates. That is a smart way to build your business.

It is also a smart way to run a political campaign.

To get elected – or nominated by your party to run for election – you need to attract enough voters who want to vote for what you have to offer. And… you work hard to encourage the people who are now ready to vote for you to encourage their friends and associates to consider voting for you.

But the primary responsibility for success resides with you – the business owner or the political candidate. You must offer something that your customers want to buy; something that voters want to support.

Successful businesses do not make sales. Rather, they develop enough customers who are eager to buy the product or service that they offer for sale. Likewise, candidates need to develop enough voters who are eager to support their cause. Voters who are willing to recruit others in support of your campaign.

All of this seems rather simple and straight forward. And it is. The complexity lies in how you ask for your customers business; how you ask for your supporters vote.

People love to buy but they hate to be sold. Likewise with voters. You can – and should – tell them that you need their support; you need their vote. But I would never tell them that it will be their fault that I went out of business or that I lost the election.

Unfortunately, the Clinton campaign is ignoring this advice. Granted, I am not a million dollar a month political adviser (like Mark Penn) so why should they take my advice. But, I would never say this to my supporters: Continue reading “Don’t Blame Your Customers!” »

Filed Under: Business Communications, Business Practices, Consulting, Customer Service, Leadership, Main Page, Political Strategy, Sales Tagged: , , , ,
February 25, 2008 2 Comments

Don’t Point Your Finger!

hillary-points-finger.jpgYour mother told you! “It’s not polite to point your finger at someone.” And she was correct on this point. I do not like to have someone point their finger at me – literally or figuratively.

Senator Hillary Clinton – It is time that you started to listen to your mother! Remember what she told you: “It’s not polite to point your finger at someone. It will not earn you any points (votes) and people do not appreciate it.”

obama-1.jpg

Senator Barack Obama also points his finger. What politician does not? But this post – and my blog – is not about “political finger pointing.” I am not writing about shifting the blame. I am posting and blogging about effective communications.

 

I have been watching the videos and analyzing the body language of each candidate vying for their party’s presidential nomination. In reviewing the video of the recent CNN debate between Senator Clinton and Obama I noticed a distinct difference in how each candidate uses the fingers to make a point:

 

  • Sen. Clinton consistently pointed her finger directly at her audience.
  • Sen. Obama usually pointed his finger upwards or to the side.

This may seem subtle to some. And it may prove significant to others. And it may play a role in the outcome of the voting. We will see. We listen to what we see!

 

However, professional speech coaches agree that you should avoid literally pointing or poking your finger at someone. Here is a quote form Joan Detz, the author of “It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It.”

 

“Don’t point at the audience. The simple truth is, no one likes to be pointed at.”

 

At this late date in a heated primary election campaign, Hillary Clinton is probably not listening to outside experts on body language and effective communication styles. She is relying on instinct and (unconsciously) responding in the heat of the moment. In my opinion, she does not respond effectively – especially with ter body language – when feels that she is being attacked or is having her proposals rejected. Who does? I don’t. Do you? Of course not. But we must be aware of how we physically react when we are attacked:

 

We listen with our eyes.

 

No matter what we say, people will remember what they see. We remember more of what we see than what we hear.

 

This is the image that plays back in my head when I see someone pointing their finger at the audience.

bill-clinton-points-finger-2.jpg

 

It is not a pretty picture. It will not win votes. It is not polite. Just ask your mother. She will tell you – and she will not point her finger at you!

When you give a speech or make a presentation you must present your point of view – that’s why you were invited to speak. To be effective you must state your point, present you case and back up your points and finally give your audience a call to action. Make you point. Point out how you differ from your opponent. Just remember not to point you finger at you audience!

They will get the point.

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February 18, 2008 Leave a Comment

How to Deal with Hecklers

Former President Clinton should take a few lessons from his spouse. One lesson that he needs to learn immediately is how to handle hecklers in the audience. She is very good at it. He is not. She turns a heckler’s taunts in into tumultuous applause – for her! He is lured by the heckler’s bait and turns their comments into hand-to-hand combat. She wins. He loses.

The former President always loses these arguments with hecklers. Unfortunately, his lack of discipline when it comes to dealing with hecklers and provocative statements may cost his spouse the nomination. Who wins these arguments? More importantly, who stands to lose as a result?

This morning’s headline, “Bill Spars with Obama Supporter” dominated the 24-hour news cycle. With only a few days until the next state primary elections, do you think that this was the headline that Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign wanted to see? Of course not. If nothing else, the heckler – or rather, Bill Clinton’s reaction to the heckler – took the spotlight away from Sen. Clinton’s campaign. The focus was once again back on Bill. Not on Hillary. I am sure that she and her supporters were not pleased by this.

Who won the argument? Certainly not Bill Clinton. Certainly not Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The heckler succeeded in getting what he wanted – attention! Attention on him. Attention on President Clinton’s reaction to the argument. Attention directed away from Sen. Clinton’s campaign.

Do you see how hecklers can succeed in grabbing the spotlight? Do you see how easy it is to fall into their trap? Want to find out how to avoid taking their bait?

It’s easy. Hillary Clinton can show us how. Remember the hecklers in New Hampshire who carried signs and shouted, “Iron My Shirt!”? Let’s look at how Sen. Clinton handled that situation: Continue reading “How to Deal with Hecklers” »

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